title: Haemodynamic monitoring of morbidly obese intensive care unit patients.
abstract: Because of technical and practical difficulties in relation to increased body size, haemodynamic monitoring of morbidly obese critically ill patients (i.e. body mass index &#8805;40 kg÷m2) may be challenging. Obese and non-obese patients are not so different with respect to haemodynamic monitoring and goals. The critical care physician, however, should be aware of the basic principles of the monitoring tools used. The theoretical assumptions and calculations of these tools could be invalid because of the high body weight and fat distribution. Although the method of assessing haemodynamic data may be more complex in morbidly obese patients, its interpretation should not be different from that in non-obese patients. Indeed, when indexed for body surface area or (predicted) lean body mass, reliable haemodynamic data are comparable etween obese and non-obese individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. W.K.Lagrand@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Lagrand
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: van Slobbe-Bijlsma
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Schultz
mesh_terms: D019296:Capnography / Q000379:methods; D002406:Catheterization, Peripheral / Q000379:methods; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods*; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010092:Oximetry / Q000379:methods